General
He remained at Tuskegee as a civilian instructor pilot in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program until January 1943, when he entered the program as a cadet and received his commission as second lieutenant in July 1943. He next completed fighter pilot combat training at Selfridge Field, Mich., and was assigned to various units in the United States for the next six years.
General James returned to the United States and in July 1951 went to Otis Air Force Base, Mass., where he was assigned as an all-weather jet fighter pilot with the 58th Fighter Interceptor Squadron and became operations officer. In April 1953 he became Commander of the 437th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, and in August 1955 assumed command of the 60th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. While stationed at Otis Air Force Base, he received the Massachusetts Junior Chamber of Commerce 1954 award of "Young Man of the Year" for his outstanding community relations efforts. He graduated from the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., in June 1957. General James was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force as a staff officer in the Air Defense Division of the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. In July 1960 he was transferred to the Royal Air Force Station at Bentwaters, England, where he served successively as Assistant Director of Operations and then Director of Operations, 81st Tactical Fighter Wing; Commander, 92nd Tactical Fighter Squadron; and Deputy Commander for Operations for the 81st Wing. In September 1964 General James was transferred to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., where he was Director of Operations Training and later Deputy Commander for Operations for the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing.
He was named Vice Commander of the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in December 1967. While stationed at Eglin AFB, the Florida State Jaycees named General James as Florida's Outstanding American of the Year for 1969; and he received the Jaycee Distinguished Service Award. He was transferred to Wheelus Air Base in the Libyan Arab Republic, in August 1969, as Commander of the 7272nd Fighter Training Wing.
General James is widely known for his speeches on Americanism and patriotism for which he has been editorialized in numerous national and international publications. Excerpts from some of these speeches have been read into the Congressional Record. He was awarded the George Washington Freedom Foundation Medal in 1967 and again in 1968. He received the Arnold Air Society Eugene M. Zuckert Award, in 1970, for outstanding contributions to Air Force professionalism. His citation read "...fighter pilot with a magnificent record, public speaker, and eloquent spokesman for the American Dream we so rarely achieve."
General James was promoted to 4-star General on 1 September 1975, becoming the first USAF African-American to hold the highest USAF rank. General James retired from active USAF service on 1 February 1978 and died later that month on the 25th. Article
courtesy of the Air Force Museum |
(March 1977)
General Daniel James, Jr., is Commander in Chief, North American Air Defense Command
(NORAD), a bi-national military command consisting of United States and Canadian air
defense forces. Headquarters for NORAD is Peterson Air Force Base (AFB) Colo. General
James also serves as Commander in Chief, United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command
(ADCOM), the United States element of NORAD. In these dual capacities, General James has
operational command of all United States and Canadian strategic aerospace defense forces.
He is responsible for surveillance and air defense of North American airspace and for
providing warning and assessment of hostile attack on the continent from bombers and
missiles. 
General James was born on Feb. 11, 1920, in Pensacola, Fla., where he
graduated from Washington High School in June 1937. He attended Tuskegee Institute at
Tuskegee, Ala., from September 1937 to March 1942, where he received a bachelor of science
degree in physical education and completed civilian pilot training under the
government-sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program. 
In September 1949 General James went to the
Philippines and was assigned as flight leader in the 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 18th
Fighter Wing, at Clark Field. In July 1950 he went to Korea where he flew 101 combat
missions in F-51 and F-80 aircraft during the Korean War. 
General James went to Ubon Royal Thai Air
Force Base, Thailand, in December 1966, as Deputy Commander for Operations, 8th Tactical
Fighter Wing, and in June 1967 was named wing Vice Commander. He flew 78 combat missions
into North Vietnam, many in the Hanoi/Haiphong area, and led a flight in the Bolo MiG
sweep in which seven Communist MiG-21s were destroyed, the highest total kill of any
mission during the Vietnam War. 
General James became Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) on March 31, 1970, and was designated Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) on April 20, 1973.